The Roaring Twenties The 1920s represents a major political and cultural shift in the US Citizens were tired of war and international conflicts and want the focus back on themselves They rejected ideas of conservatism socially and economically 1920s Politics The main goal of the US was to return back to normal after the war The goal was to end violence abroad and racial violence at home build a strong economy and keep the US independent from European conflicts Progressives began to lose faith in having a strong government because of its abuse during the war and the diminishing of civil liberties Eventually there is a return to lassiez faire capitalism There was a definite shift to consumerism and consumption as well as from politics to leisure and public concerns to private ones There was a decline in voter turnout from 80 down to 50 due to the disenfranchisement of African Americans in the South Republicans took control of the White House for 12 years from 1921 to 1933 Warren Harding 1921 1923 he had a mixed platform with some conservative policies and some progressive policies Harding slashed taxes established a federal budget system and put tight limitations on immigration but also reduced railroad rates created the Bureau of Veterans Affairs the Department of Public Welfare for women and children and introduced an anti lynching bill which didn t get past Congress Harding was a very corrupt president who fathered an illegitimate child had cabinet members who took bribes and whose Secretary of the Interior was convicted of a felon Calvin Coolidge 1923 1929 he continued Harding s policies but avoided scandals He fought against farm relief legislation and helped free up private money to use in stock speculation Herbert Hoover 1929 1933 his campaign slogan was a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage Hoover believed that all Americans could and should be rich and he directly linked prosperity with American identity Post War Economics Immediately after the war there was a three year depression However the economy bounced back and we saw the highest standard of living in US history as well as around the world thanks to all the products we were producing to support the war The GNP rose from 20 billion before the war to 104 billion in 1929 There were major increases in manufacturing especially the automobile industry which supported many other industries including rubber steel road and tourism This led to the growth of suburbs There was also an expansion of consumer culture due to the growth in advertising Americans began spending more money on leisure items like vacations telephones radios and movie theaters People also began paying with credit on things like cars washing machines and refrigerators rather than on just homes and land By 1929 there was one car in America for every four people compared to 1 100 in England This time period is when we first saw the emergence of celebrity culture which in that time period included Babe Ruth Charlie Chaplin and Charles Lindberg Soon people began to identify with how much stuff you could buy and many people went into debt for consumer goods not necessities As the stock markets continued to rise more and more Americans began to invest Many people would buy stock on margin which meant you are loaned the money to purchase the stock Most people would quickly sell their stocks so as to make a large amount of money in a short period of time and be able to cover their margins Though Americans of every class saw wage increases there was still a great wealth disparity In 1929 the richest 5 held more of the nation s wealth than the bottom 60 Forty percent of Americans were still at or below the poverty level Farmers were the worst off during this time period Prosperity during the war had encouraged them to buy land on credit but since the high level of production was no longer needed they produced the same amount but had to sell at much lower prices The value of farmland also decreased leaving many farmers unable to pay their mortgages resulting in thousands of foreclosures Civil Liberties and Cultural Change During the 1920s freedom of speech was first restricted but eventually shifted towards a broader interpretation of the First Amendment American Civil Liberties Union ACLU raised questions about the extent to which civil liberties can and should be limited Many Americans were concerned about their civil liberties being violated during this time period Schenck vs US 1919 the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not protect speech that poses a clear and present danger Gitlow vs NY 1925 Gitlow was arrested under a NY criminal anarchy statute because he was distributing copies of a socialist pamphlet called The Left Wing Manifesto The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment applies to the states meaning they cannot violate the freedom of speech However in this specific case they decided to uphold NY s statute Stromberg vs California 1931 a California woman was arrested for displaying a red flag in opposition of the US Government The Supreme Court ruled that speech can be non verbal They overturn her convictions on the basis that the California law violates her First Amendment rights you cannot limit someone s speech just because they disagree with the US Government Women and Flapper Culture After the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 the feminist movement becomes disorganized However in 1923 Alice Paul introduces the Equal Rights Amendment ERA which stated that the law shall not deny or abridge any right of a citizen of the US on the account of sex This further disorganizes the feminist movement because some women see this as a threat to certain programs that specifically benefit women and children Growing personal freedom for women led to the creation of flapper culture Flappers were young single women who cut their hair very short wore short dresses drank and smoked in public went out dancing and engaged in premarital sex All of this was very risqu for the time period Flapper culture rejected the 19th century idea that white women are sexually passive they wanted to control their sexuality and openly flaunt it in public Women became more and more interested in birth control They often went to dance halls where African Americans hung out Even if they married flappers tended to be less traditional than the average women at that time African Americans Leaders like Du Bois had encouraged African Americans to enlist in the